The American Dream In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

After the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was implemented in America, many immigrants from China, Japan, and India were stripped of their pursuit of the American Dream at Angel Island. The immigration station’s detainment of these rejected dreamers destroyed stories before they could happen. These stories of opportunity and the fulfillment of the American Dream make America what it is today. For instance, many immigrants today who are lucky enough to settle into America enter with little money in their pockets. However, through hard labor and persistence, they are able to grasp onto the four elements that construct the American Dream: fame, fortune, family and a future. The Great American Novel must document the

Imagine living in a world where dreams that come to mind are highly reachable and come without a struggle, a place where fantasies come into play. Americans far and beyond believe the American Dream is something as simple as owning a home or starting a family, but for Jay Gatsby, that was simply not enough. As a man with implausible dreams, Gatsby thought differently when compared to others. His American Dream was not a job or a home, but rather a married woman who is known as Daisy Buchanan. As Gatsby placed the sole focus of his life on Daisy, he became obsessed. Through a passage in The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald employs personification and diction to convey the idea that Gatsby was lost in the unique distortion of his own reality with Daisy.

The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, depicts that the American Dream is unattainable. The novel portrays the ignorance of society after the war. The Great Gatsby was published in 1925 after World War I had ended. Americans, at the time, lived in an illusion to try to forget about the war, thus, the American Dream was very appealing to Americans. The American Dream set an illusion that allowed Americans to believe that one could change the past and “re-do” the mistakes all over again. The setting in the novel places a timeline that Fitzgerald has written to let the readers know that during the 1920s, many various objects were put into place such as bootlegging and women becoming “flappers”. Bootlegging appeared in the 1920s because of prohibition where one could not sell alcohol or drink alcohol. Women were also changing the way that they dressed as well as the type of hairstyle women wore, thus, some women became known as flappers. Fitzgerald also incorporates a bit of his life into the novel through Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. Both Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway are parts of Fitzgerald. Jay Gatsby, a millionaire who showed up out of nowhere, is a part of who Fitzgerald wanted to become because of a woman he met during World War I and Nick Carraway, a laidback bonds salesman and the narrator of the story, is also a part of Fitzgerald wanting to be an author. Although both characters are a depiction of Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is a character that lives in

The idea of American Dream as presented by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the Great Gatsby novel involves rising from poverty or rags to richness and wealthy. The American Dream exemplifies that elements such as race, gender, and ethnicity are valueless as they do not influence the ability of an individual to rise to power and richness. This American Dream makes the assumption that concepts such as xenophobia are non-existent in America a concept that is not true and shows vagueness of the American Dream. In his novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the Great Gatsby to demonstrate the overall idea of living the American dream. Gatsby leaves his small village of farmers and manages to work his way up the ladder although some of the money he uses to climb the ladder is associated with crime “He was a son of God and he must be about His Father's Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty” (Fitzgerald 6.7). This phrase shows that Gatsby wasn’t meant for a life similar to that of his father but rather destined for greatness. However, his dream his short-lived and he doesn’t make it to the top as Daisy who is a symbol of his wealthy rejects her and a series of events transpire that result in his death before he could live his American Dream alongside everyone else who was working up the ladder to live the American Dream.

shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel… Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily. ‘They’re such beautiful shirts,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds” (Fitzgerald 92). Daisy had married Tom and he was wealthy but when she went to Gatsby’s mansion, she realized the extent of his wealth. Gatsby and Daisy’s main focus in their lives was money. Money was all they really cared about. “Jay Gatsby’s quest, the wealthy Daisy, represents the emptiness of an American society focused on money, a sordid but accurate view of the American Dream” (Adamson 25). The American society is basically empty with a large focus on money rather than the significant things in life.

Seeing something beautiful that will make one’s life much better makes a person insane in trying to get that thing for himself. In the 1920s, poor people would do whatever it needs to achieve their American Dream even if it was something terrible. That’s because they want to end their misery of living poor and live the life that they always wished. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the author uses the fact of Daisy marrying Tom because of his money while she loves Gatsby, Myrtle cheating on her husband with Tom looking to be rich, and Wilson starting his own little business looking for wealth, to show how the American Dream is impossible because it is based off of greed.

Take a trip back to the 1920s to the East egg of New York where everyone wanted to go to these glamorous parties that Gatsby threw ever Saturday. Many people say only the ones who are born wealthy can live the American Dream I believe by working hard anyone can reach it. The American Dream takes a big part of the novel The Great Gatsby. What really is the American Dream? Throughout the book it shows how the people in the 1920s lived this dream and The desire everyone had in the West egg to be able to live it.

The early 1920’s were a time when the economy began to soar, and the notion of the American dream began to take effect. The American Dream is the idea that anyone can come from any background and no matter who they are, if they work hard and stay true to themselves, they can achieve their dreams. The Great Gatsby, set in the early twenties, displays that socio-economic power is obtained through inheritance, forming an aristocracy of power and wealth. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, demonstrates how geography and location dictate where the social-class level of an individual exists permanently in society. Furthermore, illusion and affectation portrayed in the novel to conceive the image of power and wealth in a way for

Everyone has an ideal vision of what he or she wants out of life. In a perfect world, everyone would die happy having achieved every goal ever set. A perfect world does not exist. Fitzgerald knows this, and he chronicles the life of Gatsby. Gatsby deeply desires to live out the “American dream.” He wants fame, riches, parties, mansions, but most of all love. Gatsby succeeds in every area except the most important. Gatsby still feels a desire to fulfill his final dream of finding a true love. Not willing to settle for an arbitrary love, Gatsby sets his sights on a young woman named Daisy. The problem is that Gatsby can never have Daisy because she is already in a relationship with another man. Gatsby, still wanting Daisy’s love but

What is your American Dream? The American Dream is the belief that anyone, in spite of where they were born or what class they were born into, can accomplish their own form of accomplishment in a society where upward success is imaginable for everyone. The 1920s was a time period of thrilling changes to America’s culture and way of life, but come the 1930’s American took punch and crashed into a great depression. The Author of The great Gastby, F. Scott Fitzgerald show what life is like during the 1920’s and the author of, Of mice and men, John Steinbeck's shows a whole different life when the Great Depression hits. The two authors both show how no matter how rich or how poor everyone has an American dream. In everyone’s eyes there’s a different dream, some dream big while others dream small, not one American dream is the same, but they all have a goal of becoming happy.

Everyone in America has their own American Dream. These dreams may vary from having a family or becoming a rich business person. The American dream was strongest in our country during the start of the 1920's. America was just beginning to triumph over poverty. People were becoming more successful as a country. Carrie Latet once said, "May I never wake up from the American dream." Along with Carrie, this was the wish of the vast majority of America. In 1929, the Great Depression hit and many Americans did have to wake up from their dream of success.

Within the novel “THE GREAT GATSBY”, the main issue is that Gatsby falls in love with daisy while she married to Tom. He fall in love with Daisy and her wealth before he went to the war, when he was still a poor youth. He thought he could make Daisy loves him again, as he become a wealthy man, however, it leads to the death of him and the rejection of Daisy. In my point of view the failure of Gatsby is the symbol that represents the betrayal of his American dream.

out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was

“Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story about a young man named Dexter Green who is the son of a father who is the owner of the second best owned grocery store in the town of Dillard. In the winter he skis across the golf course where he caddies at in the summer to make some spending money. The “winter dreams” idea of the story is the American Dream that Dexter comes to embody but, he finds out success comes at a high cost and social mobility restricts Dexter’s capacity for happiness. The point that Fitzgerald is trying to get across to the reader is that the American Dream may not be what most perceive it to be and that there is a dark side to the American Dream with the idea of money cannot buy happiness. The American Dream is used

The American dream in The Great Gatsby written by Scott Fitzgerald, About fighting for what we want. American Dream makes us strong and brave to do things we would not do. American dream can be clothes, money, luxury, and love. In the novel the American Dream is what we picture but if we dig deep inside there are crushed dreams and conquered but failed. American dream is not what we all pictured in the Great Gatsby but they make us believe how great is life is. The Great Gatsby is about high class society where does not mean that all American Dreams come true but there are always a bad ending to their American Dreams.